Prenatal Care Utilization and Persistence Patterns in a Developing Nation

Utilization of prenatal care services is an important public health issue, in that lack of utilization is associated with poor pregnancy outcomes, particularly among socially and economically high-risk women. This investigation explored factors associated with utilization of prenatal care services in a sample of 185 urban Jamaican women. Data were collected at an initial prenatal care clinic visit, follow-up interviews with those who failed to persist, and from medical records. Findings indicated that the two most important factors in late initiation of prenatal care, and in failure to persist, were cost of service and susceptibility to poor pregnancy outcome.